Godspeed

Album: Cities (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Godspeed" is about rock stars destroying themselves with excess and arrogance. One verse probably refers to Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols.

    Kill yourself slowly over time
    Fashion statement suicide
    She's asleep in the Chelsea hotel
    Bad turns to worse and the worst turns into Hell


    On October 12, 1978, Vicious woke up in his hotel room in the Chelsea Hotel to find his girlfriend Nancy Spungen dead on the bathroom floor. Vicious gave conflicting stories of what happened, eventually sticking to the story that he couldn't remember. Vicious died of heroin overdose a little over a year later.
  • "Godspeed" was first released on the EP of the same name, which was the first EP Anberlin ever released. Less than a year later the band released it on their third studio album, Cities. "Godspeed" was the first single they put out for Cities.
  • Anberlin frontman Stephen Christian told Rush Hour Scenes that this was the toughest Cities song to record because the band couldn't settle on a chorus. He estimated they went through 15 before settling on the final.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Keith Reid of Procol Harum

Keith Reid of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Victoria Williams

Victoria WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.